Cast a Light in the Darkness Wrapped around My Heart
by DarkPoisonousLove
Summary: Archie wakes up to find the bed empty and the worries running rampant in Zelena's mind as they are both faced with the issue of good parenting. Canon divergence after the end of season 6 in which Archie and Zelena become a couple. Wicked Cricket.


**A/N: This was written for intothewickedwood over on tumblr as she was the one who introduced me to the concept of this ship. I hope it might find other supporters as well! :)**

Archie jolted awake from a dream he could barely remember. It had to do with an empty bed in the next room and an out of control flying broom and that was still enough for him to figure out the worries that his mind was occupied by but he preferred not to lose sleep over self psychoanalysis for which the morning was as good a time as any other.

He reached for his wife in the darkness of the night but his hand was met with cold sheets instead of her warm sleeping form. That was enough to make him forget sleep and toss the covers aside to get out of bed and go look for Zelena.

He saw light coming from the kitchen when he stepped out of the bedroom and headed there to find her boiling a pot of tea. At three in the morning. She was losing sleep even without self psychoanalysis as the cause for it. Or maybe that was exactly what was keeping her awake. She was so lost in thought that he could tell he was preoccupied with being hard on herself and that was why she didn't hear him approach.

He knocked lightly on the door frame to snap her out of her thoughts as gently as possible.

She turned around to look at him, no surprise in her eyes since he'd made it very clear it was him and not who she really wished to see.

"Hey," he greeted. "Couldn't sleep?" he asked the obvious because he didn't want to force her to talk about something she didn't want to. It was clear to both of them what was on her mind–on both their minds, really–so he left her the choice whether to discuss it.

Zelena sighed and leaned back on the kitchen counter behind her. "I'm worried about Robin," she said, looking distressed enough to actually admit it.

"You know she's safe with Alex and her family," Archie said, not trying to dismiss her worries but to reassure her. Ella had called earlier to tell them that Robin was at their place and would stay overnight. She'd ran away after another fight with her mom and Archie and Zelena had agreed that it would be better to leave her be now that they knew her whereabouts rather than drag her back home where she'd hole herself up in her room, not missing the opportunity to slam the door on her way in.

"I know," Zelena said as she crossed her arms. Her concern hadn't completely dissipated but that was to be expected. She was a mother who'd had her daughter storm out of the house in the middle of a fight. She'd only truly calm down when Robin was safe and sound in her arms. But it was apparent that that wasn't the only thing on her mind. She would've fallen asleep by now otherwise. As unpleasant as it was to acknowledge, that was far from the first time Robin had run away during an argument with her mom. And knowing Zelena, that was exactly what was keeping her up.

"Or do you mean that you're worried about her in general?" he asked, nudging her to talk, get it off her chest. But only if she wanted to. Forcing her to be vulnerable could have a counterproductive effect when she was already upset.

"We don't stop fighting," Zelena said, unfolding her arms in a frustrated gesture before letting them fall at her sides. She held his gaze. "Am I a bad mother?" she asked, the words throwing him into shock with their bluntness. And the straight face she popped the question with seemed convincing enough of a facade if not for her eyes to give away how scared she was of the answer. Yet, that also told him that she trusted him to tell her the truth and the knowledge washed over him with the warm security that he'd be able to help her.

"No," Archie stated firmly. "Never think that," he said as he crossed the room and grasped gently at her upper arms, hoping that his touch would give the words tangibility and gravitas. "Do you hear me?" he asked, eyes locked with hers.

Zelena nodded slowly, uncertainly.

"You're a great mother," he continued as he wished she could see herself through his eyes. He'd seen all the smiles on her face every morning after she'd sent Robin off to school and all the tears falling from her eyes after a fight between the two of them that had escalated. He'd seen all the emotions she'd kept from Robin to protect her from them, all the fears and worries about the future, and all the encouragement and support she'd shown her. And he wished she'd see them, too, but the darkness in her mind was too thick for her to see through. "It's just that both you and Robin are strong-headed," he tried to battle the doubts by giving them a sense of normalcy to shrink them in size and make them easier to defeat. She'd faced many monsters in her life, though he knew that those in her mind had always been hardest to fight. "It's normal for your characters to clash," he reassured once again. "Especially now that she's trying to find out who she is and where she fits in the world."

Zelena gave a small smile that lacked its usual radiance. "Spoken like a therapist," she teased.

Archie felt his sides heating up and let go of her arms, unable to even focus on her obvious attempt to deflect. He still had his own doubts about the morality of their relationship. She'd used to go to him for therapy because she'd wanted to be a better person and a better mother to her daughter. They'd worked through a lot of her emotional baggage before they'd both felt there'd been no need for their sessions anymore. Yet, they'd stayed friends, used to the other's presence in their lives, and Robin had taken a liking to him as well, always running to him and extending her little arms to him in a plea to pick her up. So they'd gone for walks and had had dinner a few times a month, then a few days a week, until they'd made their way into a relationship.

He was happy, of course–he loved her–but he couldn't help but question it sometimes. He had an unhealthy amount of knowledge about her personal demons which let him read her much easier than she could read him. It left him feeling like he was intruding on her privacy when he could practically read the thoughts in her mind just with a glance at her face and that bothered him but Zelena seemed to trust him with her vulnerability. And when she didn't, she could quickly come up with a quip that would scare anyone else away but to him it was just a sign to leave her alone for the moment until she was ready to discuss the problem. And she usually came around soon which helped him do the same and put his doubts to rest. She'd trusted him as her therapist. And now she trusted him even more as her husband.

"Maybe," Archie said as he caught her hand. "But I am saying this as someone who has witnessed the entire development of your relationship with Robin – you two have been through so much and to me it is obvious how much you love each other." Zelena was ready to give up her heart for Robin, which wasn't just a metaphor in Storybrooke, and Robin had offered to give up sweets forever if that would help heal her sick mom, which had been a big thing for a ten-year-old with a sweet tooth. "You've raised a great daughter and none of these quarrels will matter in the long run."

Robin was going through a mean girl phase. But it was just that – a phase. Archie could see the kind young woman she was turning into under the mask of selfishness and superiority in the way she wouldn't move as to not disturb Pongo when he'd fallen asleep with his head in her lap and the gentle smile on her face when the cactus Zelena had bought her blossomed in her room. She was going to be fine.

"Thank you," Zelena squeezed his hand and gave him a smile. "But we raised her together. You're her parent as well."

The words made their way into Archie's heart. He never would've given himself that title. He didn't call himself Robin's stepfather, afraid of infringing upon her perception of him. He was her mother's husband and her friend and that worked well enough for him. Truth be told, he'd been rather scared of being even that, of being in Robin's life at all. He himself had had a disastrous upbringing and while he may have found himself, raising a child was a big responsibility that he hadn't been certain he could take on. He hadn't wanted to leave Zelena alone with it, though, so he'd offered his assistance when she'd needed it. But Robin was her daughter and he wouldn't have dared to make himself out to be her parent. Even if he felt her like a part of him.

"Need a light in there?" Zelena asked for she'd seen the shadows in his mind. She freed herself from his hold to grab a box of matches from the kitchen counter and held it out to him. She kept matches around the entire house in case she needed some fire. It was what she missed most from her magic. Though, Archie suspected she missed the warmth of security more than the burn of destruction it could offer her.

She felt helpless without her magic, even if she'd taken self-defense classes to be able to protect herself and Robin. And he was sure that it was mostly because of the problems that she wouldn't have been able to solve even with her magic intact. The rocky relationship between her and Robin left her vulnerable and afraid. And a fire was good to keep you warm and light your way at the same time.

Archie caught her wrist and gently pulled her closer until she was almost pressed against him and he could feel her body heat. "There's my light," he said and touched his forehead to Zelena's. He believed her words and that gave him the power to banish the doubts from his mind even if he'd never had magic in his life.

Zelena smiled and raised her free hand to stroke his cheek.

He wrapped the arm that wasn't already holding her around her waist and held her close to his heart.


End file.
